Every day a rental sits empty between tenants is rent you don't get back. Most of the delay in a turnover isn't the work itself. It's the waiting: for the inspection, for a painter, for a flooring crew, and for someone to come back and fix what the last trade missed.
Before we did repairs for customers, we were turning around houses we owned in the Houston area. This is the checklist that came out of that work. Use it on your own turnover, or hand it to whoever does the work.
Start with the move-out inspection
Walk the unit the day the keys come back, before anyone starts working. Take dated photos of every room, every wall and anything damaged. Those photos back up any security deposit deductions, and they become the scope of work.
Write everything down in one list, sorted by room. One list sent to one crew moves faster than four lists sent to four vendors.
Do the work in the right order
The order matters more than most people expect. Work done out of sequence gets paid for twice.
- Repairs first. Drywall patches, doors, hardware and anything broken. If the inspection turned up a plumbing, electrical or AC problem, book the licensed trade now so that work is finished before paint.
- Paint second. Patches need paint, and painters shouldn't be working around a repair crew.
- Flooring third. New flooring goes in after the paint, so it doesn't get dripped on.
- Clean last. The deep clean happens after the trades leave, not before.
- Photos and listing. Once it's clean, photograph it for the listing and for your records.
Room-by-room checklist
Every room
- Patch nail holes, dents and scuffs, then touch up or repaint
- Doors open, close and latch, with door stops in place
- Blinds work and have no bent or missing slats
- Outlets and switches work, with no cracked cover plates
- Light fixtures work, with matching bulbs
- No lifting vinyl plank, torn carpet or loose transition strips
Kitchen
- Every burner, the oven and the vent hood work
- The refrigerator cools, and the dishwasher runs and drains
- No leaks under the sink and no soft spots in the cabinet floor
- Cabinet doors and drawers close and line up
- Caulk at the sink and backsplash is clean and complete
Bathrooms
- Toilets flush, refill and don't rock
- No drips at faucets or shower heads
- Tub and shower caulk and grout are sound, with no mildew
- The exhaust fan runs
Heating, cooling and water
- A new AC filter, with the date written on it
- The AC condensate drain line runs clear. Houston humidity keeps that line busy, and a clogged one can back up and stain a ceiling.
- No leaks or rust at the base of the water heater
Outside
- Fence gates swing and latch
- Exterior lights work
- Pressure wash the driveway, walk and entry if they need it
- Haul off anything the last tenant left behind
The Texas rules you can't skip
Two turnover items are required by Texas law, not just good practice.
- Rekey the locks. Texas Property Code section 92.156 requires the landlord to rekey any security device operated by a key, card or combination, at the landlord's expense, no later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover.
- Test the smoke alarms. Section 92.258 requires the landlord to confirm each smoke alarm works at the start of the new tenant's possession. That means testing it with smoke, pressing the test button, or following the manufacturer's test steps.
Section 92.153 also lists the security devices a Texas rental generally needs. They include a latch on each exterior window, a keyed deadbolt or doorknob lock on each exterior door, and a keyless bolting device and door viewer on each exterior door. Sliding glass doors need a pin lock plus a handle latch or security bar. The statute has exceptions, and a turnover is a good time to check each device.
This is a summary, not legal advice. Read the current text of Texas Property Code chapter 92 or ask a Texas attorney about your situation.
Keep a standard spec
If you own more than one rental, pick one paint color, one blind size, one faucet and one light fixture, and use them everywhere. Touch-ups match, spare parts fit every unit, and quotes come back faster because the scope is the same every time.
